'The Rake Punished': Kentucky Opera's 'Don Giovanni' and film noir - Insider Louisville By Melissa Chipman | January 31, 2013 11:08 am Kentucky Opera wraps up its 2012-2013 season with Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” on Feb. 15 and 17. The full title in Italian is: Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni, meaning “The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni.” You don’t hear that word often– “rake,” meaning “a stylish man of loose morals and promiscuous habits.” The last time that word was in popular usage was likely in the 30’s and 40’s when hardboiled detective novels by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett were all the rage. While the original production of “The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni” was first performed in 1787 in Prague and the libretto, by Lorenzo da Ponte, sets the opera in a 17th century Spanish town, director Kristine McIntyre has chosen to stage the opera in the style of Hollywood’s classic era of film noir.

Film noir is characterized by sinister, shadowy imagery and sexually-charged drama. A natural match for the high sensuality of “Don Giovanni.” To celebrate the upcoming noir-themed production, the Kentucky Opera has partnered with the Louisville Film Society to present a series of classic film noir titles at the Dreamland Film Center both before and after the run of the opera. 7 p.m. “Panic in the Streets” – dir. Elia Kazan, 1950 9 p.m. “Act of Violence”- dir. Fred Zimmerman, 1948 Feb 13: 7 p.m “They Live by Night” – dir. Nicholas Ray, 1948 9 p.m. “Gun Crazy” – dir. Joseph Lewis, 1950 Feb. 20: 7 p.m “Naked Kiss” – dir. Samuel Fuller, 1964 9 p.m “Scandal Sheet” dir. Phil Karlson, 1952 Feb 27: 7 p.m. “The Asphalt Jungle” – dir. John Huston, 1950 9 p.m. “Suddenly” – dir.

Lewis Allen, 1954 All films will be screened at Dreamland Film Center, 810 E. Market Street. For more information visit the Louisville Film Society website. There are only two productions of “Don Giovanni,” Fri., Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. and Sun., Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. The opera, conducted by Joseph Mechavich, stars Ben Wager as the young, arrogant, sexually promiscuous nobleman Giovanni. “Don Giovanni” was last performed by the Kentucky Opera in February 2003. The opera will be performed at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. It is in two acts and will be sung in Italian with English supertitles. Tickets start at $30 and are available at the Kentucky Center Box Office or online . The Rake Punished | News | Opera Scotland The Rake Punished Posted 15 Oct 2013 Don Giovanni, a young, arrogant and sexually promiscuous nobleman, abuses and outrages everyone else in the cast of Mozart's great opera, Don Giovanni. The plot is based on the story of Don Juan, a legendary Casanova figure.

With a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, the stirring drama has both captivated and repelled audiences ever since it was written. While the music certainly has some difficulties for performers, George Bernard Shaw, a knowledgeable critic, still lamented the poor standard of many of the performances he heard. However it is the complexity in the presentation of the drama that has caused the work to develop a reputation for being near-impossible. This new production by Scottish Opera is undertaken by an experienced team, led by Sir Thomas Allen, who was himself for many years an outstanding performer in the title role. Read about past performances in Scotland here , then click through for more images and buy your tickets here . The Top Ten Greatest Operas —The Imaginative Conservative Stephen M. Klugewicz 46 62960 The human voice is God’s most beautiful instrument, and the blending of voices and musical instruments within the context of a dramatic visual presentation is the zenith of human artistic achievement. This is the glory of opera. Below is a list of the ten greatest operas ever composed, in order of greatness, from ten down to number one, in the estimation of the present author. Spirited disagreement is expected and welcomed. 10.

Antonio Vivaldi: L’Olimpiade Vivaldi is well-known today because of The Four Seasons and a handful of other concertos. But the composer considered himself primarily a writer of opera. Indeed, Vivaldi spent much of his career as a traveling impresario, staging often-hastily-assembled operas across Europe (and traveling with two young sister-singers who starred in his productions and who became the subject of lascivious rumors about the middle-aged priest/composer). Liberally indulging in the common practice of self-borrowing, Vivaldi sometimes cobbled together “new” works, taking arias and tunes from previous operas and instrumental works. The libretti of Vivaldi’s operas are complex and usually ridiculous–though this can be said of most opera libretti–but it is the brilliance of the music that carries the day. Though it has dramatic lapses, a case can be made that L’Olimpiade, a love story that takes places during the ancient Olympic games, is the Red Priest’s greatest composition in this genre. Here is the brilliant aria, “Siam navi all’onde algenti”: 9.

Hector Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust Though eros can reflect God’s love, it can also destroy when pursued to the exclusion of all else. This is the theme of Berlioz’s Faust, based on Goethe’s famous story. Though not technically an opera, it can and has been staged as one, most memorably in a recent production by the Metropolitan Opera. Faust, bored with the limits of his humanistic philosophical pursuits, is tempted by Mephistopheles to pour all his desires into the possession of the fetching Marguerite. Faust becomes consumed by erotic desire and finally sells his soul to the Devil to save Marguerite from death. In the climactic “Ride to the Abyss,” Mephistopheles leads Faust to his doom in the depths of Hell. The gloom of the denouement is relieved only by Berlioz’s altering of Goethe by having the murdered Marguerite’s soul ascend to Heaven. Here are highlights from the superb staging by the Met: 8. W.A.

Mozart: Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) Often overshadowed by its sister singspiel, The Magic Flute, “this rescue opera” is just as delightful and as profound, full of high spirits and deep feeling. Indeed, it has the advantage of avoiding the longeurs of that better-known work. A predecessor of the other great Mozart operas included here, The Abduction already shows the composer’s mastery of operatic writing and his ability to depict the comedic and tragic elements of life in a seamless musical mosaic. The story is simple: Two Spaniards set out to rescue their lovers from the clutches of Turkish Muslims. The happy ending is typical of Mozart and packs a surprise, as the seemingly villainous Turkish Pasha grants his captives their freedom. Here is the delightful duet, “Vivat Bacchus,” during which Pedrillo talks a Moorish guard into getting drunk. “Don’t worry, Mohammed isn’t looking!” 7. P.I. Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin Few composers rival Tchaikvosky when it comes to plumbing the depths of the human heart.

Based on Alexander Pushkin’s play, Eugene Onegin tells the tragic tale of the beautiful young woman, Tatiana, who falls in love with the eponymous friend of her sister’s fiancé. Onegin is a cautious man, however, and is unable to return Tatiana’s love. In the course of his interaction with Tatiana and her sister, Onegin ends up in a dispute with his friend Lensky, eventually killing him in a duel. After many years away from Tatiana, Onegin realizes that he indeed loves her. But it is too late: Tatiana has married a prince to whom she is determined to remain faithful, despite her still-active feelings for Onegin. The opera ends with Onegin in despair over this rejection. Here is the scene in which Tatiana pours out her love for Onegin in a letter. 6. Hector Berlioz: Benvenuto Cellini The son of an atheistic father and a Roman Catholic mother, Berlioz’ oeuvre often reflects this dual religious heritage. In Cellini, however, the humanistic side of the composer rules. This is the tale of the eponymous Renaissance artist who fashioned the great statue of Perseus cutting off the head of Medusa.

Cellini is clearly a guise for Berlioz himself: an artist who overcomes all obstacles, including those posed by the Church, to find his true love, prove his superiority to his peers, and demonstrate that man is indeed the measure of all things. Even the post-modern, Euro-trash staging of this production cannot diminish the glorious music of Berlioz: 5. Giuseppe Verdi: La Traviata (The Fallen Woman) Perhaps the most performed opera today, this tragic and sexually-charged tale of the young courtesan Violetta’s love for the nobleman Alfredo scandalized mid-nineteenth Victorian audiences in Europe and America, even more so than had Mozart’s Don Giovanni the previous century. The opera makes use of the typical operatic plot conventions of misunderstandings between lovers and a foreshortened end to romantic happiness, in this case because of the fatal tuberculosis contracted by Violetta. Here is the famous “Brindisi,” a drinking song in which Alfredo sings of the glories of love, only to be rebuffed by the initially cynical Violetta: 4.

Gioacchino Rossini: The Barber of Seville If there was a “successor” to Mozart, it was probably Rossini, though his high-spirited operas do not plumb Mozart’s sublime depths. Barber is a sort of prequel to Mozart’s Figaro, detailing the adventures of the same wily servant whose wedding is at the heart of the earlier opera. The characters and their hijinks will be familiar to those who love Figaro. The opera’s most famous aria is “Largo al factotum,” in which the hero Figaro sings of his skills as a barber, matchmaker, and counselor to the people of Seville: 3. Georges Bizet: Carmen It is amazing that musical snobs still turn up their noses at this great opera. Based on Prosper Mérimée’s novella, the plot centers on the eponymous character’s seduction and corruption of Don Jose, a Spanish officer who abandons his family, his duty, his virtue, his reason, and at last his soul in favor of his all-consuming desire to possess the beautiful gypsy.

The music for Carmen is the most seductive in the repertoire; we cannot blame Don Jose for being seduced by her, and we watch and listen in anguish as he hurtles inevitably towards his doom. Watch Carmen seduce Don Jose: 2. W.A. Mozart: Don Giovanni At a time when opera was either buffa or seria, Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo da Ponte created what they called a dramma giocoso (“jocular drama”), and Mozart’s masterpiece wonderfully blends the serious, even the frightening, with the humorous. The story centers on the eponymous aristocrat whose obsession in life is bedding as many women as possible by whatever means necessary, whether persuasion or force. As always, Mozart is fascinated by human relationships, and though much has been made of the tension between the Don and his servant Leporello, Mozart sees class not as determinative of human interaction but as a lens through which the nature of man can be better understood. The opera has sparked debate since its premier.

The Romantics, who did not like old-fashioned moralizing, often cut the opera’s final sextet, in which the surviving characters make sense of the Don’s downfall: “Thus it is to evildoers.” And though Mozart was surely committed to having the lascivious Don get his comeuppance at the end of the opera, there is little doubt that the composer could not help but admire the prowess of Giovanni, who runs circles around the opera’s other characters and who is only defeated by an act of supernatural revenge. In this famous aria, “Finch’han dal vino,” Giovanni at orders his servant, Leporello, to gather all the girls he can find for a wild, drinking party: 1. W.A. Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro (Figaro’s Wedding) Perhaps Mozart’s most beloved opera, the story—by Da Ponte after Beaumarchais’ play—centers on Count Almaviva’s attempt to sleep with his servant Figaro’s betrothed, Susanna.

Though the aristocratic Droit du seigneur and the Count himself are mocked, as in Don Giovanni, Mozart is concerned less with class and more with the battle of the sexes, which he clearly sees as more revealing of the human soul and more important in the forging of human alliances. Susanna and the neglected Countess, for example, team up to play a prank on the Count, foiling his attempt to have a clandestine rendezvous with his wife’s maidservant. The “Aria of the Wind” sung by the two women as they conspire is one of the most enchanting creations ever penned by a composer (and was memorably used to illustrate the power of beautiful music in the film, The Shawshank Redemption.) Though clearly in the buffa genre, the story’s resolution brings one of Mozart’s most sublime moments, as the repentant Count begs forgiveness of the Countess, and order is restored. Here Figaro taunts the young, sex-starved page Cherubino and pretends to send him on his way to the army: Books on the topic of this essay may be found in The Imaginative Conservative Bookstore . Please note that the author has revised this list since this essay was originally published.

Don Giovanni | opera by Mozart | Britannica.com opera by Mozart Alternative Titles: “Il dissoluto punito ossia il Don Giovanni”, “The Libertine Punished, or Don Giovanni” Related Topics opera buffa Don Giovanni, in full The Libertine Punished; or, Don Giovanni, Italian Il dissoluto punito; ossia, il Don Giovanni, opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Italian libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte ) that premiered at the original National Theatre in Prague on October 29, 1787. The opera’s subject is Don Juan , the notorious libertine of fiction, and his eventual descent into hell . For Mozart, it was an unusually intense work, and it was not entirely understood in his own time. Within a generation, however, it was recognized as one of the greatest of all operas. Background and context The great popularity in Prague of Mozart’s previous opera, The Marriage of Figaro , led the theatre’s impresario to commission a new work from the composer. Mozart wanted to keep the same librettist, da Ponte, for the new work.

The librettist was extremely busy writing for other composers at the Viennese court and decided to adapt an existing libretto on the subject of Don Juan. Although there were hurdles and delays in bringing the opera to the stage, Don Giovanni was a great success in Prague and remained in the repertoire there for years. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, portrait by Johann Georg Edlinger; in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, … Sean Gallup/Getty Images Mozart revised the opera for Vienna , where it was performed in May 1788. His changes included substituting a simpler aria for “ Il mio tesoro ” (Don Ottavio in Act II) and adding a comic scene between Leporello and Zerlina. Although Vienna’s audiences were less enthusiastic than Prague’s, Don Giovanni was appreciated by sophisticated music lovers there. Page from the manuscript of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni (1787). Bettmann/Corbis Mozart deftly underscores the action with his music.

For example, in an aria midway through Act I (the “ Catalogue Aria ”), Giovanni’s servant, Leporello, reads delightedly from his little black book, listing the many women who have been conquered by Don Giovanni in each of several nations—1,003 women in Spain alone! Mozart matches musical characteristics to various adjectives, so that petite women are portrayed with short notes and ladies of more grandeur are described with longer note values. Similar Topics Other clever musical touches can be found in the well-known duet “ Là ci darem la mano ” in Act I. As the duet begins, Giovanni and his prey have alternate verses, but, as the conquest ensues, they begin to blend in harmony, the music reflecting their emotional unity. Of far more dramatic musical impact is the entrance of the vengeful ghost (specifically, a stone statue come to life) near the end of the opera. He has come to demand repentance of the villain; otherwise he is prepared to take Giovanni to hell. The music by which the ghost appears is some of the most formidable that Mozart would ever write.

He had placed hints at the beginning of the overture; the foreboding chords symbolize Giovanni’s fate and foreshadow the massive movement of the statue that will end the libertine’s adventures. The scene is so powerful that many performances in the 1800s ended with Giovanni’s descent into hell rather than with Mozart’s light final scene. Don Giovanni, nobleman and rake ( baritone ) Don Pedro, Commandant of Seville and Anna’s father ( bass ) Don Ottavio, Anna’s fiancé ( tenor ) Leporello, Don Giovanni’s servant (bass) Donna Anna, the Commandant’s daughter ( soprano ) Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni’s former lover (soprano) Masetto, a peasant (bass) Zerlina, Masetto’s fiancée (soprano) Peasants, musicians, dancers, chorus of demons. Setting and story summary Don Giovanni is set in and around Seville (now Sevilla ), Spain , in the 17th century. Act I Music: Fact or Fiction? Scene 1. In the garden outside the Commandant’s mansion.

Leporello, servant to Don Giovanni, serves as lookout and waits impatiently as his master daringly breaks into the house to seduce the Commandant’s daughter. He grumbles about his thankless job—no sleep, little pay, hard work (“ Notte e giorno faticar ”). Suddenly, Giovanni and Donna Anna rush out of the palace. They are struggling. Anna screams and unsuccessfully tries to discover the masked Giovanni’s identity. Her father appears, brandishing a sword , and challenges Giovanni to a duel; Anna runs to get help. Giovanni, at first reluctant, accepts the challenge and proceeds to kill the old man, whereupon he and Leporello escape. Anna returns with her fiancé, Don Ottavio, to find her father dead; she makes Ottavio swear to avenge her father’s death. Britannica Stories Queen Elizabeth I’s Skirt Found Scene 2. Early morning the next day, in a square outside Seville. Leporello, having made Giovanni promise not to punish him for speaking freely, tells him that his life is scandalous. When Giovanni becomes angry, Leporello changes the subject to Giovanni’s catalogue of women.

As his master tells of his latest flame, they spot a veiled woman walking along the road. The men do not recognize her, but she is one of Giovanni’s former conquests, Donna Elvira. They hide as she rages at her betrayal at the hands of a scoundrel who had seduced and then deserted her (“ Ah! chi mi dice mai ”). When Giovanni, pleased at the prospect of another conquest, approaches to comfort her, she recognizes him as the man who had abandoned her. As she berates him, the dismayed Giovanni sneaks off. Leporello, curtly explaining to her that she is not his master’s only victim and will surely not be the last, relates the catalogue of Giovanni’s conquests to her (“ Madamina, il catalogo è questo ”): 640 in Italy, 231 in Germany, 100 in France, a mere 91 in Turkey, but 1,003 in Spain! Leporello quickly departs, leaving Elvira even angrier and bent on revenge. Scene 3. Outside a tavern in the countryside near Don Giovanni’s castle.

A group of peasants are celebrating the engagement of Zerlina and Masetto. Giovanni and Leporello admire the girls, and Giovanni is very interested in Zerlina. He invites everyone to enter his castle to eat and drink. But he detains Zerlina, to the annoyance of her fiancé, who is finally persuaded to go with the others. Giovanni promises to marry Zerlina (Duet: “ Là ci darem la mano ”). Won over, Zerlina agrees. Just then, Elvira comes in and warns Zerlina against him. The two women leave together. Illustration (c. 1914) of a scene from Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni … © Photos.com/Jupiterimages Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest Anna and Ottavio arrive. Not realizing that Giovanni is the man who, masked, had assaulted her and killed her father, Anna seeks his help. Elvira returns and tries to tell the others what kind of man he really is, but Giovanni tells them that Elvira is mad and takes her away. Yet Anna has realized, from his voice, that Giovanni was indeed her attacker.

She tells Ottavio what happened to her on the night her father was killed and again begs him to seek vengeance (“ Or sai, chi l’onore ”). Ottavio, left alone, reflects on his love for her (“ Dalla sua pace ”). Giovanni and Leporello reappear. Leporello relates how he got the villagers drunk and managed to lock Elvira out of the house. Delighted, Giovanni orders a huge party (“ Finch’han del vino ”) and goes off to prepare for it. Scene 4. In the garden outside Don Giovanni’s castle. Listen: Mozart, W.A.: Don Giovanni Recitativo “ Orsù, spicciati presto ” (“Come on now, hurry … Masetto stalks into the garden, ignoring Zerlina’s entreaties and accusing her of infidelity. She urges Masetto to beat her if he wants, as long as they make up (“ Batti, batti, o bel Masetto ”). Masetto relents. When they hear Giovanni approaching, Zerlina becomes agitated, and Masetto, suspicious, hides so that he can watch them.

Giovanni renews his attentions and tries to draw her aside into the very place where Masetto is hiding. Masetto, furious, jumps out of the foliage and surprises him, but Giovanni recovers his composure and blithely says that he and Zerlina were just looking for Masetto. Giovanni reunites the two and invites them to his castle to join the party. Once they have left, three masked figures enter the garden. The three—Anna, Ottavio, and Elvira—are determined to expose Giovanni to everyone. Giovanni and Leporello see them from Giovanni’s balcony and, not recognizing them, invite them to the party as well. Britannica Lists & Quizzes Scene 5. Inside the ballroom of Don Giovanni’s castle. Listen: Mozart, W.A.: Don Giovanni The aria “ Madamina, il catalogo e questo ” (“My dear lady, this is a … As the guests dance, Giovanni continues his pursuit of Zerlina. He heartily welcomes the masked trio as they come in. As Giovanni dances with Zerlina, Leporello forces Masetto to dance, allowing Giovanni to drag Zerlina away.

When Zerlina’s screams are heard, interrupting the party, Masetto and the others rush to help her, but the door is locked. When the angry crowd threatens to break down the door, Giovanni reappears, with Leporello at sword’s point. Giovanni proclaims that his lackey is the attacker. Ottavio, Anna, and Elvira unmask and threaten Giovanni, who disarms Ottavio with his sword and keeps the mob away. Using Leporello as a shield, Giovanni escapes. Act II Scene 1. Outside Donna Elvira’s house. Leporello threatens to leave Giovanni, but he is given money and is persuaded to stay. Giovanni has a plan: Leporello is to pretend to be him and entice Elvira away, leaving Giovanni, dressed as Leporello, free to seduce her maid, Zerlina. They exchange clothes. It is dark, and, when Elvira appears at her window, she is persuaded by an apparently repentant “Giovanni” to come down to him. A false scare sends the pair running off.

Giovanni as “Leporello” then serenades Zerlina (“ Deh vieni alla finestra ”), but he is forced to hide when Masetto and some armed villagers come looking for him. “Leporello” tells them that he has left his master, and he sends them off in all directions to find Giovanni. The disguised Giovanni tricks Masetto into handing over his weapons and then thrashes him and runs off, leaving Masetto groaning on the ground. Zerlina appears, comforts him, and takes him home (“ Vedrai, carino ”). Scene 2. A dark courtyard by Donna Anna’s house. “Giovanni” and Elvira are in a courtyard; he is trying to find a way to escape. Just as he finds the door, Ottavio and Anna enter, followed by Zerlina and Masetto. Thinking Leporello is Giovanni, they corner him while Elvira begs them to spare him. Desperate, he reveals his true identity, to the astonishment of all. As they advance on him, he begs for mercy but manages to flee.

Ottavio urges the others to comfort Anna while he seeks revenge (“ Il mio tesoro ”). Elvira, left alone, expresses her mixture of emotions about Giovanni—pity for his doomed soul and hurt by his betrayal of her (“ Mi tradì quell’alma ingrata ”). Adolf Hitler Scene 3. A church graveyard. Giovanni laughingly relates his recent adventures to Leporello. Suddenly, a ghostly voice says that his mirth will soon end. Leporello, stuttering with fright, notices the funerary statue of the Commandant, on which is inscribed a vow of vengeance on his murderer. Giovanni brazenly orders the terrified Leporello to invite the statue to supper. The statue accepts, with a horrifying nod of its head. Scene 4. Inside Donna Anna’s house. Anna is still mourning her father’s death, and Ottavio tries to soothe her by proposing marriage and assuring her that Giovanni will soon be brought to justice . She tenderly confirms her love for him but says their marriage must wait until her father’s murder has been avenged (“ Non mi dir ”). Scene 5.

Dining hall inside Don Giovanni’s castle. Giovanni orders the orchestra to play as he dines, while Leporello sneaks food from the table. Elvira bursts in and begs Giovanni to change his ways, but he merely invites her to eat. As she is leaving, she suddenly stops at the door, screams, and runs out another door. Giovanni orders Leporello to investigate the commotion. He does so and returns stammering about a man of stone knocking at the door. The Commandant’s statue appears and announces that he has come for dinner. Giovanni offers his hospitality as Leporello hides. The statue refuses mortal food but invites Giovanni to sup with him. Giovanni accepts, giving the statue his hand as a promise, but he then finds himself trapped in the statue’s marble grasp. The statue demands that Giovanni repent, but the rake refuses. The statue proclaims Giovanni’s fate and sinks through the ground as flames surround them. Terrified, Giovanni tries to escape but is blocked by the fire. With a cry of despair, Giovanni is dragged off to hell as a chorus of demons condemns him to eternal damnation. Flames envelop the castle. Epilogue.

Don Giovanni’s dining hall, a few minutes later. Ottavio, Anna, Elvira, Zerlina, and Masetto arrive with ministers of justice to confront Giovanni. Leporello, who has escaped the inferno, relays the news and describes the terror he has witnessed. Justice has been done, they all agree. Anna agrees to marry Ottavio; Elvira will retire to a convent; Zerlina and Masetto will go home to eat; and Leporello will seek a new and better master. They turn to the audience and warn that a similar fate awaits all such libertines. The Damage Don - The Rake Magazine The Arts The Damage Don The death of a sinner, it’s said, always reflects his life — and the eponymous (and infamous) Don Giovanni was well acquainted with sin. But what if, on his descent to hell, he was having the last laugh? Words Tom Chamberlin Don Juan and the statue of the commander, ca 1835. Found in the collection of the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Strasbourg.

It might be surprising that Don Giovanni has had such little mention in The Rake, considering the full title of the opera of which he is the eponymous Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni (The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni). Yet the complex nature of Mozart’s opera buffa means the genius of this incarnation requires an appraisal beyond the mere title. The opera employs a narrative line whereby the opening scene is bookended by the concluding scene. This is not to say that ‘there is a beginning and an end’ — no, the point is that in many operas the major plot points arrive midway through the piece: cf. the Pinkerton/Butterfly/Kate love triangle in Madame Butterfly; the cheating wife in Pagliacci at the end of act I; and, of course, the tragic deception of Tosca by Scarpia from beyond the grave. Don Giovanni has three key moments: the opening scene, the aria Madamina, il catalogo è questo, and the stunning climax, known colloquially by opera buffs as the Commendatore scene (Don Giovaaannniii! A cenar teco m’invitasti).

Mozart begins his black comedy with the killing of the Commendatore, a man we see again at the end, murdered for defending the honour of his daughter, whose innocence is nearly stolen by Don Giovanni in a bleak and unsavoury attempt at rape. The death isn’t dragged out, a grim demonstration of a tragic loss of a father and husband — instead, to our protagonist, it is more or less any old Tuesday. He lives an existence in which something as extraordinary as bumping off a perturbed war hero has no significance to his day.

The Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House in London, Kasper Holten, says of the character: “Although the Don is a criminal and acts in psychopathic and unsympathetic ways, it is also almost impossible not to fall for [him], and this suggests to me that there has been some identification between Mozart and the Don.” “Every time he meets a woman and starts seducing her, he is fully present in her dream world, in the narrative that he creates for her, in this moment The extent of Don G.’s indiscriminate and insatiable sexual prowess is laid bare, so to speak, in the aforementioned comic ‘catalogue’ aria of Leporello’s, Madamina, il catalogo è questo. Listening to what the Don has left behind gives the impression he is picking blackberries from a bramble, completely unconcerned for the thorns. Leporello, his trusted servant, has kept a record of his master’s every conquest, a list of “peasant girls, maidservants, city girls, countesses, baronesses, marchionesses, princesses, women of every rank, every shape, every age”.

The horrible gender politics notwithstanding, this aria leaves a sour taste in the mouth — the shadow of the murder of the Commendatore makes one wonder how much Don Giovanni has got away with. The details of his preferences — fat women in winter and thin girls in summer; having a preference for virgins — are explained between the coloratura notes of a comic score, juxtaposing the gritty, caddish, dissolute story in the libretto. In case you were wondering, the numbers are as follows: Italy: 640; Germany: 231; France: 100; Turkey: 91; Spain: 1,003. Holten says of Giovanni’s sexual persuasiveness that, “Every time he meets a woman and starts seducing her, he is fully present in her dream world, in the narrative that he creates for her, in this moment. Mozart suggests this clearly in the way the Don’s music changes as he is with different women — it is almost as if he has no personality of his own.

He runs away from himself, and finds escapism in the beautiful act of seduction.” Mozart - Don Giovanni - Classic FM Schedule Mozart - Don Giovanni First of all, let’s get that full title down: Il Dissoluto Punito, ossia il Don Giovanni. Translated, that’s ‘The Rake, Punished, or Don Giovanni’. As a title, it does exactly what it says on the tin and for many it is Mozart’s operatic masterpiece. The opera’s Prague premiere came when Mozart was thirty-one and perhaps at the pinnacle of his popularity. It is easy to see why many music lovers cite Don Giovanni as their favourite opera of all time. Tchaikovsky, one of those who placed it above all others, once visited a friend who owned the original manuscript, remarking that he was ‘In the presence of divinity’. As well as its imposing Overture, highlights include the Catalogue Aria in which Don Giovanni’s servant, Leporello, lovingly lists his master’s lovers. In addition, the Champagne Aria (precursing a party) and lovely arias such as ‘Dalla sua pace’ make this among opera’s finest few hours.

It must also count as one of the most quoted operas by other composers, featuring in works by Offenbach, Rossini and Liszt. Recommended Recording Johannes Weisser (baritone) as Don Giovanni; Lorenzo Regazzo (bass) as Leporello; Alexandrina Pendatchanska (soprano) as Donna Elvira; Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and Chorus; René Jacobs (conductor). Harmonia Mundi: HMC 90196466. Mozart News Mozart: Overture - 'Don Giovanni' - YouTube Mozart: Overture - 'Don Giovanni' Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.

Published on Dec 1, 2012 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (German: [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ amaˈdeus ˈmoːtsaʁt], English see fn.), name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart (27 January 1756 -- 5 December 1791), was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position, always composing abundantly. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his death. The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized.

He was survived by his wife Constanze and two sons. Mozart learned voraciously from others, and developed a brilliance and maturity of style that encompassed the light and graceful along with the dark and passionate. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers, and his influence on subsequent Western art music is profound; Beethoven composed his own early works in the shadow of Mozart, and Joseph Haydn wrote that "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years... Don Giovanni (K. 527; complete title: Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni, literally The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni) is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It is based on the legends of Don Juan, a fictional libertine and seducer. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga (now called the Estates Theatre) on October 29, 1787.

Da Ponte's libretto was billed like many of its time as dramma giocoso, a term that denotes a mixing of serious and comic action. Mozart entered the work into his catalogue as an "opera buffa". Although sometimes classified as comic, it blends comedy, melodrama and supernatural elements. A staple of the standard operatic repertoire, Don Giovanni is currently tenth on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide. It has also proved a fruitful subject for writers and philosophers... A link to this wonderful artists Website: Please Enjoy! I send my kind and warm regards, Category Deh vieni alla finestra from Don Giovanni – toplayalong.com Mozart - Deh vieni alla finestra from Don Giovanni Sheet music for violin Info: "Deh vieni alla finestra" (Ah, come to the window) is an aria from the opera Don Giovanni, complete title: Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni, literally The Rake Punished). It is based on the legends of Don Juan, a fictional libertine and seducer. Mozart entered the work into his catalogue as an opera buffa.

Although sometimes classified as comic, it blends comedy, melodrama and supernatural elements. Date: Don Giovanni : il dissoluto punito = Don Juan : the rake punished (eBook, 2000) [WorldCat.org] The E-mail message field is required. Please enter the message. E-mail Message: I thought you might be interested in this item at Title: Don Giovanni : il dissoluto punito = Don Juan : the rake punished Author: Burton D Fisher; Opera Journeys Publishing Publisher: [Coral Gables, Fla.] : Opera Journeys, [2000?] ISBN/ISSN: 058542733X 9780585427331 OCLC:50869707 The ReCaptcha terms you entered were incorrect. Please try to match the 2 words shown in the window, or try the audio version.

Prima del Teatro alla Scala, Stagione 2011/2012 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Don Giovanni (Act 2) - YouTube Prima del Teatro alla Scala, Stagione 2011/2012 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Don Giovanni (Act 2) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Dec 9, 2011 Don Giovanni (K. 527; complete title: Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni, literally The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni) is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga (now called the Estates Theatre) on October 29, 1787. Act II Scene one A street.

Leporello has made up his mind to leave his master's service, but the Don convinces him to stay on, and even to exchange costumes so that the cavalier can seduce Donna Elvira's maid (Duet: Eh via, buffone). When Elvira appears at the window, Don Giovanni, concealed behind Leporello, declares his repentance to her. Trusting his words, Elvira goes off with the servant whom she has mistaken for her former admirer (Trio: Ah taci, ingiusto core). Don Giovanni is now left free to serenade Donna Elvira's maid (Canzonetta: Deh vieni alla finestra), but the sudden entry of Masetto, accompanied by armed peasants who are determined to kill the seducer, obliges him to give up this conquest too. Having recognized the servant Leporello in Don Giovanni's clothes, Masetto asks him for news of his master. But the Don, taking advantage of his disguise, manages to get rid of the peasants and is left alone with Masetto, to whom he delivers a thrashing (Aria: Metà di voi qua vadano).

Zerlina comes to the aid of her betrothed and reproaches him for his jealousy but lovingly tends his bruises (Aria: Vedrai, carino). Scene two A darkened room in Donna Anna's house. Donna Anna and Don Ottavio, Zerlina and Masetto have discovered Leporello's disguise and the trick played on Donna Elvira (Sextet: Sola, sola in buio loco). The servant barely escapes just punishment (Aria: Ah pietà, signori miei). Don Ottavio, sure by now of Don Giovanni's guilt, decides to enlist the authorities to avenge the crimes committed by this villain (Aria: Il mio tesoro intanto), while Donna Elvira cannot conceal her pity for the miscreant (Aria: Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata). Scene three A graveyard with several equestrian statues and one of the Commendatore. Don Giovanni meets Leporello and tells him of yet another disreputable thing he has done.

In reply to obscure threats uttered by the statue of the Commendatore, who is buried there, the rake has invited him to supper at his palace (Duet: O statua gentilissima). Scene four A gloomy room. Don Ottavio, confirming to Donna Anna that Don Giovanni is soon to be punished by law, asks her if she feels she can now accept his proposal of marriage. But she is weary after recent events and begs him to be patient a little longer, though she again reassures him of her love (Aria: Non mi dir, bell'idol mio). Scene five A dining room and table laid for a feast. While Don Giovanni cheerfully dines, despite the appearance of Donna Elvira, who has come to get him to repent his sins, the statue of the Commendatore appears at the door (Finale: Già la mensa è preparata). Leporello takes shelter under the table, while Don Giovanni confronts the grim apparition. After refusing the statue's recommendations to repent, he is dragged down to Hell. To the assembled company, who have come to arrest the Don, Leporello recounts his master's death.

A final ensemble rejoices in serenity regained. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim

Question: Which of Mozart’s operas has the alternative title The Rake Punished?
Answer: DON GIOVANNI